MOP tapes
In the 1970s and early 1980s, The Residents recorded numerous pieces of music which never found a home on any of their completed studio albums. These pieces were compiled by the group from 1978 until the early 1980s, into a series of four reels known as the MOP tapes. While the vast majority of the outtakes compiled on these tapes have seen release in the years since, the complete contents of the four reels remain unconfirmed. History Described as a "sub-archive" within The Residents' archive, the MOP tapes are a series of four reels containing studio outtakes compiled by the group beginning in 1978, and ending around the time they began to embrace digital recording technology in the early 1980s. The tapes were named "MOP" as they were used to "mop up" after the completion of an album, collecting any useful odds and ends into one convenient reel. The first of these tapes, labelled "MOP1", is the only one of the four to be labelled with the date it was compiled (7/11/78) and is described by the Mysterious Archivist in the liner notes of the Fingerprince pREServed edition as containing "around a dozen mainly instrumental pieces dating back as far as 1976". The last MOP tape, "MOP4", was likely assembled around 1982 or 1983, although other, similar compilation reels are known to exist in the archives dating from before and after the four reels labelled "MOP" (such as "Edit '73", "X Is For Xtra" and "A Sorded Residents"). Release The first selection of tracks originating from the MOP tapes to be released to the public was on the Residue of The Residents compilation album in 1983, which featured four pieces originating from these reels - "Saint Nix" dating from around the time of the Richard Nixon resignation in 1974 (and featuring a newly recorded vocal), "The Sleeper" from the late 1970s, "Boy In Love" from the early 1980s, and "Jailhouse Rock", dating from 1982. A number of other tracks from the MOP tapes would later appear on the group's pREServed series of reissues (particularly Fingerprince, Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen and Eskimo), beginning in 2018. The liner notes for these releases explained much further information about the previously little-known MOP tapes, including how many reels are in existence, and the date the first was compiled. A representative of Cherry Red Records has stated that the group have been considering creating a stand-alone pREServed set derived from the MOP tapes (possibly as a vinyl-only release) but are concerned that much of the material has now been released on other sets."Yes, there was talk of doing a separate MOP tapes set, but I know they're hesitant as most of it came out on various pREServed sets. Perhaps they'll do a vinyl thing, but I know they're also digging through multitrack tapes to see what else they can find." - Richard, The Residents Facebook group, January 15th 2020 The MOP tapes *MOP1 (1978) *MOP2 (19??) *MOP3 (19??) *MOP4 (1982?) Contents The following is a list of tracks which have been confirmed by The Residents or their representatives to have originated from the four original MOP tapes. 1974 *"Saint Nix" (instrumental version)"I know they have the original 'Saint Nix' instrumental, but no version with the original vocal." - Richard, The Residents Facebook group, October 21st 2019 1976 *"Entrance To Crypt" (MOP1) *"Piano Dittie" (MOP1) *"Clumsy Climb" (MOP1) *"You Yesyesyes" (Oh Mummy! Mix) (MOP1) 1978 *"Guylum Bardot '78" (MOP1) *"Soulful Sax" (MOP1) *"Ow Boutthat" (MOP1) *"When Johnny Comes Marching" (MOP1) *"Unlisted" (MOP1) *"Heart In SF" 1979 *"The Sleeper" *"Kenya" *"Middle East Dance" *"Scottish Rhapsody" 1981 *"Boy In Love" 1982 *"God Song" (Studio Rehearsal) (MOP4) *"Jailhouse Rock" See also *''Residue of The Residents'' *pREServed *X Is For Xtra *A Sorded Residents External links and references * Residue of The Residentsat Discogs * FingerprincepREServed edition at Discogs * Duck Stab!/Buster & GlenpREServed edition at Discogs * EskimopREServed edition at Discogs * Commercial AlbumpREServed edition at Discogs Category:MOP tapes Category:PREServed Category:Residue of The Residents